50 



6d. to 30s. ; the next year, from 258. to 30s. ; in 1884-5, from 16s. to 21s. ; in 1886-7, 

 from 158. to 208.; in 1888-9, from 13s. to 21s. ; and during the present season, from 

 15s. to 30s. Golden Eussets in 1882-3, brought from 268. to 28s. ; in 1884-5, from 

 16s. to 2l8. ; the year following from 14s. to 23s.; in 1886-Y, from ISs. to 28s.; in 

 1887-8, from 208. to,35s. — a few going as high as 40s., and during the present season 

 Golden Eussets are bringing from 20s. to 25s. Our Nonpareil, which is a splendid 

 apple for the table, is perhaps not generally known in Ontario and other sections of 

 the Dominion. For a long time we have regarded it as one of our best Nova Scotia 

 apples for late shipment. The apple is much smaller than the Eoxbury Eusset; per- 

 haps it is not quite so highly flavoured, and it is a question in the minds of our best 

 pomologists whether or not it is the same apple, which has changed a little through 

 propagation, or cultivation, or climate, or some other cause. Probably Mr. E. W. 

 8tarr will tell you later on that Mr. Downing, in his day, examined it thoroughly 

 many times, and he pronounced it in every case not a Eoxbury Eussot, while the 

 habit of growth of the ti'ees and other things about it would indicate it almost to be 

 the same. This apple we have frequently shipped from this side as late as the 

 month of May, and we usually realized very high prices for it from April on into 

 June. Unfortunately, however, this state of affairs does not exist now, owing to the 

 competition which we have to contend with in green fruit from Australia, the first 

 of which arrived in London in the summer of 1886, and has continued to ar- 

 i-ive there in larger quantities each year. They begin to arrive about the 

 middle or the latter pai't of April, and being green and fresh at that time, 

 for us to put our previous season's fruit alongside them is like putting a fresh picked 

 apple alongside one of those which are here in the room now. Naturally, therefore, 

 we have a strong competitor in the Australian green fruit. "We have therefore 

 found it to our advantage to ship off the whole of our Nonpareils and put th«m on 

 the market before the arrival of the Australian apples. The possibilities of the 

 trade in Nova Scotia apples with England are very great indeed. We have a great 

 many advantages in Nova Scotia over, perhaps, all the rest of the Dominion, from 

 the very fact that our apples are grown, you may say, on the pier. During the 

 discussion last evening on the question of transportation, and the delays of rail- 

 ways, etc., we Nova Scotians could not but congratulate ourselves that we were not 

 troubled with these difficulties. As I remarked last evening, we can load our apples 

 on to the cars in the morning and have them on the steamer in the afternoon. By 

 running special tjains for this purpose, which our railway companies are usually 

 disposed to do, we are able to do this in the coldest of weather, even although we 

 have not the shipping facilities at Haliiax that we should have. We have been 

 endeavouring for a number of years to procure frost-proof warehouses at the railway 

 terminus there in order that we might send our apples to Halifax in mild weather 

 on days previous to the arrival of the ship, so that we might know we should not be 

 subjected to the risk of fi-ost ; but even with the lack of these facilities which we 

 have to-day, by putting fires in the cars we are able to ship in the coldest weather 

 and have the fruit exposed but a very short time. This is one of the advantages of fruit 

 growing in Nova Scotia. Our seaports are open the entii'e winter, and we can ship 

 our apples on the very day that the ship is ready to sail or when the fruit is just 

 ready to ship. That is another very great point. As for our capabilities of fruit 

 growing, I am sorry that our collection here is not larger, as we might have shown 

 you something better as samples of Nova Scotia fruit. I may say, however, that 

 we should be glad to have any of our friends visit us during the autumn and see 

 the orchards. Tou could then better judge for yourselves than I could tell you as 

 to what our capabilities are, what sort of a climate and soil we have for growing 

 apples. We are pleased to know that our fruits stand second to hone in the English 

 markets, where we have taken proper care in packing and putting it on the market 

 in good shape. My own experience iu this line has been considerable I began 

 with my first shipments to consign, as many of you do, to brokers in the English 

 markets, who place them on sale at auction, where they were sold for whatever they 

 would fetch at the time they were offered. Finding this not to be very satisfactory 



